Oakland B&O Museum

Oakland B&O Museum is a railroad history museum in Oakland's 1884 B&O station at 117 E Liberty St, a Queen Anne-style depot listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Run by volunteers, it's a rewarding stop for anyone curious about how the railroad turned Oakland and Garrett County into a resort town and rail hub.

A Restored 1884 Depot

Designed by architects Baldwin & Pennington, the station had fallen out of use when the Town of Oakland acquired it in 1998. A restoration in 2000 brought back the original roofing, period paint colors and stained-glass details, and later work added climate and UV controls to protect the collection. The town owns the station and grounds, while the nonprofit Oakland Heritage Community Foundation operates the museum, which was founded in 2013.

Locomotive, Caboose and Exhibits

Out front sits B&O No. 476, a 1920 Baldwin Consolidation-type steam locomotive acquired with its tender in 2018, with its purchase and restoration funded by the Offutt Trust. Beside it is a 1955 B&O caboose, donated by the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore and restored inside and out by a local Boy Scout as his Eagle Scout project. A green boxcar houses the End of the Line Bookstore. Inside you'll find:

• Rotating exhibits on local railroad heritage, plus collections on loan from the B&O Railroad Museum
• An upstairs library of railroad books and memorabilia
• A model railroad display kept up by volunteers
• An authentic railroad bell and a gift shop

Before You Go

Because volunteers keep the doors open, the schedule changes with the seasons, so it's worth calling before you go. The Garrett County Historical Society's History Museum and Transportation Museum are also in downtown Oakland if you want to make a day of it.

Give the museum a call to check when volunteers are on hand, then plan to spend some time with the locomotive out front.

Call Us!

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• (301) 334-3204
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